It was afternoon. In Copenhagen. A charming, too-handsome-for-words mutual acquaintance relayed the news that Denmark had been crowned the richest country in the EU. I couldn’t vouch for this, but its capital appeared to be the most sustainable of all the conscientiously green cities I’d visited in northern Europe. Of course I wasn’t travelling all the way from America to Scandinavia for wind farms, organic elderberry juice, or even the first-time thrill of ordering drinks at an honest-to-God Ice Bar.... [more]

“The Spiral and the Square” is one exhibition, curated by Daniela Castro and Jochen Volz, which is part of a larger project initiated so as to approach the issues of translation and translatability of other places from a primarily Swedish perspective—beginning with a close-up on Brazilian culture. Only one of many cultures which continue to infiltrate Sweden bringing up issues of nationality, tolerance, collaboration and compromise, shows like this one are increasingly important to those who ques... [more]

Curator Daniel Birnbaum chose a clever theme in this year’s curated biennale exhibition. It has almost endless scope and he did a fairly good job of making sure that the artists fit the topic – even if that did sometimes mean equating “making installations” with “making worlds”. The art was generally of high quality, interactive, thought provoking and yes, even fun.The first and most entrancing work was Lydia Pape’s “Ttéia I, C. 2002” – a black void shot through with glinting gol... [more]